London Freight Enforcement Partnership seizes more than 200 vehicles

The London Freight Enforcement Partnership (LFEP) has seized more than 200 vehicles and issued more than 9,000 fixed penalty notices and traffic offence reports during its first two years.

A joint partnership between TfL, City of London Police, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and the Metropolitan Police Service, it targets dangerously non-compliant drivers, vehicles and operators on London’s roads.

Since the launch, more than 33,000 freight vehicles have been stopped and checked, and 9,114 fixed penalty notices and traffic offence reports have been issued, acting as deterrents and forcing operators to improve their standards.

The multi-agency approach to road safety has led to 106 arrests, 221 vehicles seized and 12 operator licences being revoked, sending a clear message that dangerous freight practices will not be tolerated.

More than 5,600 mechanical prohibitions have been issued to operators with seriously defective vehicles that are deemed unsafe to travel on London’s roads, in line with the Vision Zero approach to reduce road danger and eliminate death and serious injuries from collisions on London’s roads by 2041.

In 2015, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) were involved in 20% of pedestrian fatalities and over 70% of cyclist fatalities despite only making up four per cent of road mileage every year in London.

By sharing intelligence between partnership agencies, the Freight Compliance Unit is the UK’s first multi-agency unit that uses its intelligence to coordinate targeted checks on the routes where there is history of particularly bad practices by operators.

The partnership works towards four strategic aims, to improve air quality, to improve road safety, to reduce congestion and to promote fairness within the trade. All of LFEP’s activities contribute to these aims and this is made clearer by the rigorous checking process that takes place at every compliance stop.

Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: “We are determined to rid London of dangerous freight operators who flout the rules and have no regard for safety.

“By sharing information between enforcement agencies the most unsafe operators are identified, targeted, prosecuted and referred to the independent traffic commissioners.

“We take our responsibility to reduce road danger extremely seriously and we are working across our organisation and with our partners to eliminate death and serious injuries from London’s roads by 2041.”

Russell Simmons, DVSA’s traffic enforcement manager for the Industrial HGV Taskforce, said: “DVSA is committed to protecting you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“There’s no excuse for driving while tired, with mechanical defects or with an overweight or unstable load. Those on London’s roads who break the rules are putting themselves and others at risk.

“Working alongside our colleagues in the police and Transport for London, we’ll crack down on rogue drivers and operators, making London’s roads safer for all.”